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SCALLOP 2-week special
, who most infamously is issued a "2-week special" after essentially telling the world she's the main pilot of Strawberry. Original photo by Patrycja Dorynek.]] The "SCALLOP 2-Week Special" is a form of alternative sentencing of convicted criminals, featuring in The Gerosha Chronicles of Dozerfleet Comics. It is employed as a trope similar to the "Bail Equals Freedom" trope more typically used in Disney productions. Those who have committed minor offenses, but that are clearly determined to be anything other than intentional villains, or whose offenses are deemed circumstantially justifiable, may apply for a 2-week special, with SCALLOP intervention, as an alternative to going through a regular trial and possibly facing hefty fines or longer incarceration times. The 2-week special may also be used by heroes that are on the SDCPM as a form of protective custody when they get in over their heads. Its implementation is encouraged with the passing of the Kirby Act. Qualifications For an individual to qualify for a 2-week special, whether they end up in an actual SCALLOP-run facility or another one, the individual should ideally meet the following criteria: * Human, altered or otherwise. * Be altered, or closely tied to the activities of someone who is altered, enhanced, or paranormal. * Been caught committing nothing more serious than what might be a Class C felony in most US states, or else be able to present a case of how their actions were completely justified contextually. * Alleged crime must be of some nature that would be of interest to SCALLOP officials. Procedure # Individual must be willing to plead guilty to at least one charge. #* The charge in question must meet above criteria. # Arguments in favor of the 2-week special are heard, or SCALLOP lawyers at their own discretion may grant automatic approval. #* If approval is met by both the judge and SCALLOP, then the individual is sentenced to spend two weeks at a facility which is discussed with the convicted individual. Options are usually limited to only one or two possible locations. #* If the crimes are deemed too serious, or insufficiently contextually justifiable, review will determine if they are sent into the SCALLOP justice system or remain in the regular one. Those sent into the SCALLOP system are sent to what is deemed the appropriate SCALLOP-run facility. Otherwise, they are handed over to their county of residence to face regular charges and possible sentences. # If SCALLOP determines that the individual's offenses don't meet sufficient SCALLOP criteria, then the individual must faces the regular justice system in their county. # The individual is transported to their destination. # If approved and in the SCALLOP system, will be issued a S'Poling tether for a designated time upon release. # Said individual's name, if not already in the SDCPM, will be added to it. Not only their rapsheet, but their medical and psychological records, will become SCALLOP property for life. # Individual may be called in at any time to serve additional 2-week specials, even arbitrarily and without charge. However, a cover charge will usually be given to make things look good on paper. This essentially makes the individual slightly above the level of a slave, for life. #* If individual is called in arbitrarily when on a S'Poling tether, no cover charge need be issued. These are usually issued when there is no tether on the individual. #* Even if not tethered, the individual may still be monitored for life. Pros * Heroes who, for whatever reason, run into a sticky legal situation; may apply for this to avoid lengthier sentences in a regular court system. * SCALLOP facilities take a holistic approach to deciding where to house inmates, and tend to know the difference between curiosity and disrespect. Guards are discouraged from yelling and screaming. * SCALLOP, due to having fewer inmates to deal with than most other organizations running prison-industrial complexes, and due to the side money SCALLOP makes on science firms and foreign mining, tends to have smaller facilities and requires less government assistance. This also means better internal healthcare - including better access to the special needs of empowered and altered individuals. * The approach also means that therapy can be managed on a more personal basis. * Individuals, once out, have a hotline to call if they run into further trouble. ** This includes backup that may or may not arrive faster than regular police (and will probably be better prepared to face unusual threats.) ** Well-behaved parolees / probationers with difficult-to-explain circumstances may have access to SCALLOP lawyers that are better equipped than an average lawyer to handle cases of an SDCPM-warranting nature. * Individuals with children may receive better child care during their times incarcerated, and may in some instances be allowed to return to their children when their terms are done. ** Unless said individuals truly are monsters, SCALLOP Children's Services will take pains to educate children so they are not given the impression that their parents are monsters. ** SCALLOP Children's Services usually prevents children from suffering CPS abduction, the latter of which could lead to permanent separation from parents even if parents are acquitted. * Individuals whose unique circumstances make it difficult for them to function in normal society can have an easier time finding employment on a SCALLOP career rehabilitation program. Lifetime monitoring provides a safety net if they should run into employment issues. * Sufficient good faith may lead to possible employment of lesser offenders as future SCALLOP agents. * Unlike the regular justice system, the SCALLOP system takes pains to compensate for any damages done to an individual's education path by virtue of being incarcerated via the SCALLOP system, unless said individual is an adult sentenced to a term longer than a year. ** Teens that are still enrolled in high school will have their homework collected so they may complete it, and may receive a tutor. For longer sentences, a school system is set up in the facility where they are sent to avoid them failing school. ** Adults receiving a two-week special may be let out to attend college classes and collect assignments, but are not allowed to return to their normal homes after class. Cons * S'Poling is the most invasive form of monitoring. Nearly every single major life decision of the individual is black-boxed, giving their SCALLOP overseers a near-God-like omniscience concerning their personal character. * Once on the SDCPM, there is no way off. Additions become practically serfs for life. ** Charges may be pressed arbitrarily, or trumped-up, at any time, to excuse bringing someone in for any reason, or none. * Most SDCPM record details are public. ** Notable exceptions: Certain details about medical and psychological histories are scrubbed on the public-release versions, to avoid excessive endangerment or shaming. Candi's close calls dealing with head-hunters are not listed publicly, though her arrests and past relationships are. Mingmei faking her death with Remotach pills is also not listed, as SCALLOP wants the world to believe she truly was executed on a guillotine. To protect Brian Mizgel, her steamy affair with him is also scrubbed. Also scrubbed is any mention of the fact that Shing knew about the affair, and all but encouraged it in spite wishing he could keep Mingmei to himself. This was to protect Shing from public embarrassment. * Individuals deemed "too dangerous" could be subjected to Bezeetol or MPF suspension, or even sent to guillotines. All of which are possible human rights violations under normal circumstances. * If sent to a SCALLOP facility, superpowered individuals pose a greater safety risk to each other and to non-powered inmates, in spite statistically having more even tempers. * Increased likelihood of being recruited to black ops, similar to DC's Suicide Squad, though without the sadistic neck bombs. * SCALLOP is unpopular with feminist groups, who allege misogyny given that women tend to be targeted and pursued on charges more often than men. Women who wind up on the SDCPM have a higher likelihood of arbitrary call-ins and lengthier sentences. This includes women who are arguably a lot less dangerous than the men in their lives, who are often given slap-on-the-wrist penalties or are ignored for convenience. Selective enforcement has always been an issue with SCALLOP, though it was worse under Darius than under Lex. * SCALLOP is lax about enforcing measures against guards and inmates forging relationships. This is how Brian was able to get away with having sex with Mingmei. Darius was notorious for playing favorites, hence why he even tried to help Jim Oisdaat cover up the rape of Celia Winehart. * SCALLOP security is discouraged from yelling, screaming, or insulting inmates. However, they also often poorly train guards on how to deal with different types of superpowered threats. If the wrong Altered is angered, an individual may have to rely on their wits to make it out alive. ** This was perfectly demonstrated by how the staffs at SWCC and SMCC were completely unable to stop Keet Kabo from helping herself and Time Capsule escape. They also didn't think to check the back of Candi's hair for her Zeran pin, which allowed her to smuggle a Zeran teleporter to Mingmei to give to Keet to aid Keet in escaping. Nor did they figure out that Candi and Mingmei played a role in Keet getting a Zeran teleporter. ** The guards at SJCC were so ill-equipped to protect the facility, that the Icy Finger terrorists attacking it were able to knock security personnel over like bowling pins and fill much of the building with poisonous gas. Quick thinking got Tabitha and her friends out alive. Examples * Candi was issued a 2-week special in 2018, and another one after her first battle as Ciem against Musaran in Houston. She was issued a 1-month special during the Senator Gobar scandal, as she was pregnant and in protective custody / witness protection after exposing Gobar's secretary as being involved in a bank robbery. * Laurie was offered the chance to take a 2-week special, on condition she keep quiet about what Jim Oisdaat did to Celia. Laurie chose to fight her case in court. She won easily, but was traumatized by the experiences that followed to the point of retiring from the Sodality of Gerosha. * Dolly was essentially issued this when she was arrested in Green Bay, though it was noteworthy in that SCALLOP didn't officially sanction it. Her court date was set for a month later, though there were suspicions her charges could have been dropped entirely. Also, the unlikely scenario of finding her guilty of anything only would have led to an additional month in jail. Her father paid her bail and got her out, and the charges were dropped thereafter. This was one of the last interactions she would have with Gordon before he was murdered by the Hebbleskins. The anger of that event also drove Dolly from her quiet-yet-fanatical librarian self to the hot-headed "pistol" of an activist that she was when she married Jeraime. ** Dolly is noteworthy as being the only Sodality member pre-''Vindication'' to be actually convicted for a serious crime (which she didn't commit.) Much of that is attributed to her temper. * Miriam was issued a 2-week special initially for helping the Purge-Flare escape from Gerosha after his battle with Lava Tigre. ** She later was exposed as Sniperbadger to SCALLOP officials by Tamperwolf when he turned himself in following DeathDachshund's coup. This could have gotten her assassinated if world governments learned the truth, or could have led to her facing a life sentence in the US. Also, it was decided that 2 weeks was too little time. If tried as an adult, Miriam could easily have spent two years behind bars for helping Chris escape - let alone her activities as Sniperbadger. ** SCALLOP transferred her to SJCC from Warrick County. She had her 2 years reduced to 8 months - along with a promise to protect her secret identity - in exchange for defeating DeathDachshund and bringing down all her former friends in the Critter Resistance Network. * Celia was issued a 2-week special when she first returned to Italy following her 3-month stay in Houston Women's, after her month-long stay at SWCCC. She went on house arrest after that. Unusual in that her 2-week special occurred on European soil. * Stephanie Barrin, during the events in Pilltar 2, was deemed to be of SCALLOP interest when she and Seth Lambrelli were taken to court over Strawberry's activities. She decided to tell the court that she was Strawberry's main operator, at an inappropriate time, to stop the judge from accusing Seth of "racism" for using Strawberry to foil a knock-out game. Because she was preemptively declared to be of SCALLOP interest, the judge issued her a 2-week special by default. She doesn't complain, because he declared her in contempt of court - and could have given her up to a month for her outburst. She stays in just long enough to buy Seth and Ron time to figure out more of what's going on in their own company, then gets out of jail in time to help them defeat Screwworm. ** She is offered 2-week specials any time one of her inventions blows up in public. However, she was in SCALLOP jail with Candi for a month during the Gobar affair, after blowing up a Strawberry unit to defeat the black ops that were sent to kill Candi. * Donte was informed following his release from SMCC that if he ran into Candi's sorts of problems, he'd likely get a 2-week special each time. This is seen as more generous than what Candi had to endure, as she was frequently called in arbitrarily to serve three-month terms in-and-out. * Jeral was offered one after he returned from Italy. He and Emily eventually get sent to live on a SCALLOP beach colony off the coast of Mexico, where Jeral blends in with the plant life near a house on the shore and essentially lives his remaining natural life under house arrest. Emily is given a job aboard The Chen, but may visit Jeral periodically. * Jack was offered a similar deal to Candi: if he messed up at all on the reservation, he'd get 2-week specials. However, there wouldn't be the 3-month specials enforced on him that were enforced on Candi. Part of this is because the Vindication timeline marks Jack's first ever time being arrested. Candi, by contrast, had a considerably lengthy history of prior arrests. ** Miranda is issued an identical sentence to Jack. With identical offers. * Kyle is threatened with a 2-week special several times. Surprisingly, he maintains one of the cleanest records of anyone in the Sodality. ** Charlotte is under similar terms. * John was never issued one, but assured that he could be subjected to one if he ever crossed a line that SCALLOP couldn't wave away for him. This would be more humane than MPF suspension, a threat he constantly faced from his enemies given his powerful Marlquaanite status. * Marge was issued one after it was revealed that she gave her powers to Tabitha and her friends. She was already out on parole after her antics during the Vindication timeline. * Michelle received one in Italy after returning to Italy from Texas. ** Angelo was given similar terms. * Ron Barrin narrowly avoided being issued one upon his return from Italy. Charges were dropped on him, but he was strongly discouraged from becoming Pilltar for a while. * Eric agreed to one, and to a S'Poling tether, after returning from Mozambique. His "probation" term was for life, though they realized it was only a suggestion until it was no longer convenient for him to play along. Short of an MPF, they knew that Extirpon could only be detained by choice. He only agreed to it in order to end the harassment being placed on his wife and son. Also, he knew that only the dumbest prisoners would pick a fight with Extirpon. * Hea Pang is threatened that she will get one each time she is caught trying to provide a roof for Tabitha. She is issued one for sticking up for her daughter, and for questioning Arkansas police on why Tabitha was kidnapped and smuggled into Ameristan to be fed to pseudo-zombies by state officials. * Charles was one of the earliest examples, issued one simply for showing contempt when being drafted into WWII. His anger is revealed to be fueled by the fact that his girlfriend, Lacey Akawa, was wrongly sent to an internment camp for Japanese descendants. The prospect of buying her freedom is then used as leverage to convince Charlie to join the Phexo Quartet and fight in the Japanese theater of war. See also * Kirby Act * S'Poling * SDCPM Category: SCALLOP